Congratulations and Welcome to Class XXXV
Patricia Redmond , Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson , P . A . Chair , Board of Regents
After working diligently since March of last year , the Board of Regents met at the fall meeting of the College in Austin , Texas on October 11th , 2023 to consider the selection of fellows to Class
XXXV of the College .
During the last six months , Regents , members of the Circuit Admissions Councils and hundreds of fellows participated in the demanding nomination process resulting in the invitation to 30 insolvency professionals to join the College as fellows . These fellows will be inducted at the Annual Meeting once again in Washington , D . C . on March 22 , 2024 .
This year , the Board of Regents included three new Regents and topped last year as the most diverse in the College ’ s history . Last year , the College had added a member of the Diversity , Equity , and Inclusion ( DEI ) Committee to each of the Circuit Admissions Councils . As a result , each circuit cast a wider net in identifying potential fellows for nominations or for the circuit pipeline . The Regents and Circuit Admissions Councils also collaborated with DEI Committee to develop and refine working principles to guide the selection process and assure that the selection outreach was the broadest possible .
The Regents this year continued the
progress made last year with diversity , equity and inclusion . The fellows included in Class XXXV are 37 % women , 43 % diverse , 34 % under the age of 50 , 5 % over the age of 60 , 13 % financial advisors and investment bankers , and 6 % academics .
The nomination process is highly confidential and rigorous . Our Regents , Circuit Admissions Councils and fellows are tasked with reviewing candidates for admission , preparing nominations packages , and vetting those candidates within each Circuit before they are put before the Board of Regents . The Board of Regents then evaluates nominees seeking the best and the brightest restructuring professionals who have also shown a commitment to scholarship , education , paying-it-forward , and to the promotion of DEI professionally and in their community . Each candidate is subject to diligence with respect to each of these qualities .
The meeting on October 11th involved a robust discussion of each candidate with Regents expressing honest and open views . The Regents ’ preparation was extraordinary , and all participated in the discussion of nominees . This year , again with the invaluable input of Judge Erithe Smith ( the DEI Committee representative on the Board ), the Board completed its task of reviewing and nominating new fellows to the College and did so in record time because of the collegiality and professionalism of the Board . continued on page 26
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